FFlourishno. 14 · autumnSubscribe
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Baking

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Every good cookie I have eaten came off a tray that had been rested in a fridge. Browning the butter adds the hazelnut note; the cold rest concentrates the sugar and stops the spread. Neither step can be talked out of you.

PAWords by Priya Anand · 1 September 2026
Brown butter chocolate chip cookies stacked on parchment with flaky sea salt

Total time

1 hr

Serves

24

Level

Medium

Reading

5 min

01

The Recipe

Ingredients

  • 225g butter
  • 200g light brown sugar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 1 egg plus 1 yolk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 280g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp flaky salt, plus more to finish
  • 200g dark chocolate, chopped into rough chunks

Serves 24 · 1 hr in total

Method

  1. 01

    Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium, swirling often, until the foam collapses, the milk solids turn russet and the pan smells of hazelnuts. Pour into a wide bowl and cool for 15 minutes.

  2. 02

    Beat both sugars into the cooled butter until glossy, then beat in the egg, yolk and vanilla.

  3. 03

    Fold in the flour, baking soda and salt, then the chocolate. Chill the dough at least 30 minutes — an hour is better.

  4. 04

    Heat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Scoop onto trays, spacing them wide, and bake 11 minutes with the centres still soft.

  5. 05

    Tap the hot tray on the stove on the way out of the oven to knock the edges in. Cool on the tray 10 minutes, then flake with salt.

A note from the kitchen

Under-bake by thirty seconds. The tray keeps cooking long after the timer stops.

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